Buzz Bin

by MICHAEL BOWEN & r & & r & Satire Scrutiny Sells & r & A new book about Comedy Central's The Daily Show sold out its first printing in three days. No huge surprise there, except that this is an academic book. About philosophy. And two EWU professors wrote chapters in it. The response has been so strong, they've had to put off a couple of local appearances until next month and then January. Terrance MacMullan examines Jon Stewart's role as public intellectual in the context of Americans' distrust of book-larnin', while Kevin Decker's chapter on The Colbert Report warns that too much irony about politics could leave viewers without any political principles whatsoever. (Sounds as if it might have a smidgeon of truthiness about it.)

The Time-Warped Tour

Bring your fishnets, rubber gloves and toilet paper to Northern Quest at midnight this Friday and Saturday for the touring live-action version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. You can actually ask Brad if he has any tattoos -- at a live show like this one, he might even answer back. Either that, or Dr. Frank will goose you. Tickets: $25. Call 325-SEAT.

An Outing at Hogwarts

So J.K. Rowling revealed that Albus Dumbledore is gay. Actually, this is minor news. Just last week, English professors imbricated evidence that Emily Dickinson was actually Emile Dickinson, a French hearse-maker living just outside Amherst, Mass. Still, a gay man practicing witchcraft -- sounds like the next candidacy for Republicans to rationalize.

Classical Cage Match

Classical music always sounds better when a fight breaks out. At the Bing on Friday night, Allegro Baroque will pit the cellos against the viola da gambas and one ballet troupe against another in "Baroque Battles." Tickets: $10-$25. Visit www.allegrobaroque.org.

Cast a Spell on Me

Oh, sure, there's the shopping spree, the penthouse suite. But you think it's easy being outed as a guy caught in bed with another language's etymology? Actually reads the dictionary: You think that burden's easy? And then all those future e-mails: "Well, Mister Smarty Pants, I see you managed to misspell that easy word in the third column on page 27...." The morning after the big Bee, do you wake up in triumph? No, you wake up as a Dictionary Dork.

Sun., Aug. 2, 1:30 p.m.

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The new one is smart and funny and action-packed, and it’s bigger and better and sleeker. And Downey does it again, this time ramping up Stark’s arrogant wisecracking, telling anyone who’ll listen (mostly women) that, via the creation of his powerful Iron Man suit, he’s brought years of uninterrupted peace to the world.